Dustyheart's Path
by Leafstar16
Summary: Even as a kit, Dustyheart always wanted to be a warrior. The only problem is, how can you be a warrior, loyal to your Clan, if your leader is evil?
1. Prologue

**AN: My first Fanfic thx to all who are reading this now. Thanks to MerlinHasMagic for setting me up on this website :3**

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**Prologue**

"If you ally with us, Nightstar, then we will be strong enough to hold off any attack from the other Clans. We would be the most powerfull of the four Clans." Darkstar meowed,  
looking up at her as if he even expected her to agree with him. She noticed that he had a new scar, three of them across his left cheek to add to the one across his right eye.  
If he got scars at this rate, then he would look like a pink and black tortoshell or tabby instead of the black tomcat he was.  
"I cannot ally with any Clan just yet, Darkstar." Nightstar told him, and his face fell. "Its a time of peace among the Clans, and if there does happen to be a fight, well, I will wait until ThunderClan is provoked into the fight before I ally with any Clan."  
"Its a shame you feel that way Nightstar." Darkstar meowed, "This can wait, then."  
"Thank you for seeing this my way; I want to protect my Clan above all else; remember that."  
"I will. Thank you for sparing me this time." Darkstar meowed, then he got up and padded outside of the den and out of the camp. Nightstar climbed up to the highledge and called a Clan meeting.  
"We will step up our patrols and place a guard on the nursury." Nightstar meowed, "Darkstar wanted me to ally with ShadowClan, and I feel that he is planning a war among the Clans. I may be wrong, but I do not want ThunderClan to suffer because I was unprepared." Cats cheered, and Nightstar continued on, calling out which cats were on the nurusry guard and which ones would take the moonhigh patrol. "Dissmissed." She called, then padded over to her deputy, Tangleclaw. The moonlight shone down, illuminating her black fur and the odd white cresent shaped marking across her left eye that oddly enough, matched Darkstar's scar across his left eye except hers was wider.  
"Tangleclaw, do you think that ShadowClan will try to take our kits?"  
"If they want a war to provoke us into allying with them, that is the surest way to do it, as well as making it look like another Clan did the stealing."  
"True enough. I just hope that this will be enough to let us know when a Clan is attacking." Nightstar meowed, looking up at the Silverpelt, sending up a silent prayer to StarClan, PLEASE, GUIDE ME IN THESE TROUBLED TIMES, I DONT WANT TO MAKE A MISTAKE THAT WILL COST MY CLAN DEARLY.

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**AN: Sorry, short prologue. The rest of it is longer. Plz review!**


	2. Chapter 1

**AN: I don't own the Warriors series. As awesome as it is, its not mine.**

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Dustykit hissed at the ShadowClan warrior here to take the kits from the camp. "Chestnutkit, get him!" She yowled, lunging at the ShadowClan warrior at the same time that Chestnutkit attacked him from behind. The ShadowClan warrior raked his claws down Spottedkit's shoulder, and she dropped of him. "Nightkit, Spottedkit is wounded!" Dustykit called as she ripped at the warrior's fur with her teeth and raked his pelt with her claws. Nightkit began treating Spottedkit's wounds while Chestnutkit and Dustykit attacked the warrior, who turned and rolled off.  
"That will teach you, mange-pelt!" Dustykit yowled at the ShadowClan warrior, who rolled to a stop at the edge of the camp barriers. The 'ShadowClan warrior' then fell apart,  
it was actually a moss ball. Dustykit turned and padded over to Nightkit, who was pretending to be the medicine cat. "We taught him a lesson!" Dustykit mewed proudly, pointing with her tail to the shredded moss ball, which caused all four of the kits to purr.  
"Ambush! ShadowClan is ambushing us!" somecat yowled as real ShadowClan warriors burst into the camp, heading for the four kits who had been playing in front of the nursury.  
"Yikes!" Spottedkit mewed, hiding behind Chestnutkit, who stretched himself out to protect her. The ShadowClan cats grabbed the kits and turned to get out of the camp, but Chestnutkit twisted his head around and bit the warrior holding him hard, and he yowled and dropped him. Dustykit reached over and raked her claws over the nose of the warrior holding Spottedkit, who also yowled and dropped her. The warriors holding Dustykit and Nightkit raised thier heads higher as they fled to ShadowClan territory so that the kits couldn't reach them to attack them too.  
"Fox dung!" Dustykit mewed at the ShadowClan warrior holding her captive as Nightkit then burst out ito a long stream of bad words that he had heard in the camp but couldnt say without getting in trouble. It sounded like he had held them in for a long time, and they had finally burst out.  
"Stop that, you little-" The warrior holding Nightkit hissed, shaking him as Dustykit's warrior hissed,  
"Stop that, your going to kill that kit! We need him alive, remember?!" and Nightkit's warrior stopped shaking him, even though Nightkit continued spewing out more bad words as Dustykit purred. It was so funny, the looks on thier faces when Nightkit mewed,  
"And all of you are pieces of Twoleg dirt!" and kept mewing more and more bad words. Finally, they broke into the ShadowClan camp, as Nightkit was yowling the bad words now.  
"Does he ever run out of these?" Dustykit's warrior asked her as he dropped her, then held her down with his paws.  
"I didnt even think he knew this many." Dustykit mewed as she scanned the clearing for a way out. There was the camp entrance, which was guarded, and the dirtplace, which was not. Dustykit had to hope that the Dirtplace here led out to the forest like ThunderClan's did.  
"Somecat silence that kit!" A black tomcat with a scar across his right eye and three newer scars across his left cheek hissed. Nightkit's warrior grabbed some moss and stuffed it into his mouth. Nightkit spit it out but stayed silent.  
"Now, you two are my prisoners, so you'd better behave, and if you do, I might let you become ShadowClan warriors." the cat meowed like being a ShadowClan warrior was every kits' dream.  
"No." Nightkit mewed.  
"No?" The black tom hissed.  
"No! I am going to be the medicine cat of ThunderClan, never a warrior of the Clan who stole us!"  
"Yeah!" Dustykit agreed, "Why should we do what you say? YOU STOLE US FROM OUR HOME!"  
"Silence!" the black tom yowled as he knocked Nightkit off his feet and into a hole. He turned to Dustykit, but she had already taken off, running for the camp entrance. The guards hissed, and she swerved for the dirtplace, racing through as the black tom yowled, "GET THAT KIT!" Dustykit raced through the pines, hoping that she would come up in ThunderClan territory, but she emerged at the Thunderpath to RiverClan instead! She looked back and saw the ShadowClan warriors running full-on at her, so she turned and raced onto the Thunderpath, and saw the horrified looks of the RiverClan cats on the other side. Before Dustykit could wonder what was wrong, something huge slammed into her side,  
and she fell onto the Thunderpath, her world spiraling into darkness as she felt a cat pick her up and carry her over to the other side of the Thunderpath, but he smelled like fish...not like...any ShadowClan...cats...ever...did...

When Dustykit opened her eyes, she was next to the Moonpool facing a blue-furred she-cat, Bluestar, Dustykit remembered from the stories of the great Firestar and the Old Territories.  
"Your time has not yet come, Dustykit. You have a special gift, so do not waste it." Bluestar meowed. Beofre Dustykit could ask what gift, her eyes closed of thier own accord and her world once again spiraled into darkness.

When Dustykit woke up, she kept her eyes closed. She could hear two cats talking to each other and deicided to listen in.  
"She's very lucky that the Monster didnt kill her, it only threw her onto the Thunderpath." a tomcat meowed.  
"Still, she's been out for two days. When will she wake up?" A she-cat meowed.  
"When she is ready, thats when. She smells of ThunderClan, which obviously means that ShadowClan has been up to kitnaping lately."  
"Water..." Somecat mewed with a hoarse voice, Dustykit realized it was her. "Please." She opened her eyes to see a silvery tom with pale blue eyes dart over and grabbed some moss and soaked it in water, then gave to to Dustykit, who drank every drop from the moss. "Thank you." Dustykit mewed, her voice no long hoarse. Dustykit then explained everything that happened since ShadowClan kitnapped her and Nightkit up to where the Monster had hit her.  
"Well, that proves what Hailstar and I thought happened." The tomcat meowed, "I am Troutscale. You were very lucky that you were not killed, blinded, or otherwise. The Monster just threw you and left, and now your completely fine." Dustykit turned her head to the white and silver tortoshell she-cat, Hailstar, who nods then pads out of the den. "You need to rest here while Hailstar goes and gets Nightstar to take you home."  
"Thanks for saving me." Dustykit mewed.  
"Not a problem." Troutscale meowed, then turned around and went back to whatever he had been doing before. A brown kit with very dark brown eyes padded into the den and over to Dustykit.  
"Hi, I'm Volekit, what's your name?"  
"I'm Dustykit."  
"Hi, then! Wanna play?"  
"Yes!" Dustykit mewed excitedly, and the games began. Moss-ball, warriors, then they were on a quest to get the Lake's water back from the strange brown animals called beavers just like the Clans had many many moons before. Then, Nightstar padded into the den with Hailstar, then turned to her and meowed,  
"Thank you, ThunderClan owes you for the rescue of our kit."  
"Not a problem Nightstar, the safety of kits is the responsibility of all the Clans, not just the Clan the kit was born into." Hailstar meowed, then Nightstar nodded and picked up Dustykit by her scruff, and carried her out of the camp and to ThunderClan. When Nightstar set her down by the nursury, Dustykit asked,  
"What about Nightkit?"  
"Nightkit it fine, we went on a raid to take both of you back home, but we only found Nightkit, and when Darkstar told me that you were dead, well, I feared the worst. Then,  
a sun-cycle later, Hailstar comes and tells me that she found you. I cannot tell you how relieved the whole Clan was."  
"Okay." Dustykit mewed, then told Nightstar about her dream about Bluestar when she was hit by the Monster.  
"You have been given a very special gift, Dustykit." Nightstar meowed, "Bluestar has seen fit to give you an extra life. Do not waste it."  
"I wont." Dustykit promised, then she turned and bounded into the nursery.

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**AN: I really, really would like your reviews! This is my first fanfiction, so I'd appreciate your input! :)**


	3. Chapter 2

**AN: Sorry it took a while to get this on. I had some problems because it kept submitting the wrong document, ha ha. Plus it deleted itself (not kidding) off of the website. Well, its here now. Hope you all like it.**

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Dustykit was so excited; today was the day that she and Chestnutkit would become apprentices of ThunderClan! Her mother, Bristletail, had licked her own fluffy pelt and bristly tail clean, then moved on to her and Chestnutkit. Now thier fur was clean of dust, and Dustykit hoped that hers wasnt glowing after all that cleaning.  
"All cats old enough to catch thier own prey gather beneath the Highledge for a Clan meeting!" Nightstar called as the whole Clan gathered in front of the Highledge. "Today,  
two kits will become apprentices of ThunderClan! Dustykit, please come forward." Dustykit climbed up the Highledge and sat next to Nightstar, her eyes shining in excitement.  
"From now on, Dustykit, you shall be known as Dustypaw. Your mentor will be Larksong." Larksong, a pure-whtie she-cat with pinkish red eyes, climbed up the Highledge to touch noses with Dustypaw, then they both climbed down together and rejoined the throng of cats. "Chestnutkit, please come forward." Chestnutkit climbed up the Highledge, bouncing up and down in place in his excitment. After a quick purr, Nightstar continued, "From now on, Chestnutkit, you shall be known as Chestnutpaw. Starlingpelt will be your mentor." Starlingpelt, a white tabby tom with black stripes and amber eyes, climbed up the Highledge and touched noses with Chestnutpaw, then they both climbed back down together and rejoined the mass of cats. "In a quarter moon, we will have two more apprentices. Clan dissmissed." Nightstar meowed, then padded down the Highledge and joined her Clan.  
"Get some rest, Dustypaw. You have a long day of training ahead." Larksong advised, and so Dustypaw padded inside the Apprentice's Den and saw her friends, Skypaw and Whitepaw, had made her and Chestnutpaw two new nests!  
"Thanks." Dustypaw meowed, then padded to the nest that was near the camp border, she had noticed as a kit that that was a secret way out; if she ever needed one, she'd better take this nest. Dustypaw curled up into her new nest, and quickly fell asleep.

Dont aim with your eyes, Dustypaw. Pick a spot to attack, then look somewhere else." Larksong cautioned. Dustypaw and Chestnutpaw had been training for a quarter moon now;  
tonight, Nightkit and Spottedkit would join them. Dustypaw chose to attack Larksong's belly, then looked at her shoulders. Dustypaw leaped up, then slid down, sliding under her belly, attacking it with her claws sheathed, then slid back out before Larksong could retailiate.  
"Perfect, Dustypaw! Come on, the ceremony will start soon!" Larksong meowed, then padded into the camp with Dustypaw on her tail.  
"All cats old enough to catch thier own prey gather beneath the Highledge for a Clan meeting!" Nightstar called as the cats gathered in front of the Highledge.  
"We're just in time." Larksong meowed as she and Dustypaw sat down with the cats. When Dustypaw looked around, she saw Chestnutpaw and his mentor Starlingpelt were already there, Chestnutpaw was really excited that Spottedkit and Nightkit were joining them.  
"Nightkit, please step forward." Nightstar meowed as Nightkit climbed the Highledge and sat next to Rainsong. "From now on, Nightkit, you shall be known as Nightpaw. I will train you in the ways of the Medicine Cats." Rainsong meowed, then Nightpaw touched noses with her, then he padded down with Rainsong to rejoin the mass of cats. "Spottedkit, please come forward." Nighstar called as Spottedkit padded up the Highledge and sat by her leader. "From now on, Spottedkit, you shall be known as Spottedpaw. Barkpelt will be your mentor." Spottedpaw and Barkpelt touched noses, then padded down and rejoined the other cats.  
"The Gathering is in a quarter moon and a half. Dissmissed." Nightstar meowed, then rejoined the cats as they made thier way over to thier duties.

OK now, we're going to do a different type of battle training excersize." Barkpelt meowed to Dustypaw, Spottedpaw, Whitepaw, Skypaw, Morningpaw, and Chestnutpaw.  
"We will divide us into two teams; one will try and touch that holly bush over on the other side of the clearing, and the other will try to take this bramble buch here. Your team must make a strategy to defend your bush and take the other team's bush. OK? No questions? Then I'll divide the teams." Larksong drew a line in the sand. "Dustypaw, come over on the right side of the line. Chestnutpaw, your on the left, Spottedpaw, on the right, Whitepaw, on the left, Skypaw, on the right. Morningpaw, on the left. Ready? Start making your plans. I will tell you when to start."  
"OK, all of us should defend the bush but one." Skypaw meowed, "Then that one cat will sneak around and touch the bramble bush."  
"I think we should all make a run for it, then see who touches it." Spottedpaw meowed.  
"That is just what Morningpaw will do. So, yeah, both teams cant do that."  
"OK, I agree with Skypaw's plan." Dustypaw meowed.  
"OK then, who's running for thier bush?" Spottedpaw asked.  
"Dustypaw is, she's the fastest." Skypaw meowed.  
"OK." Dustypaw meowed.  
"We're ready!" Skypaw meowed.  
"OK then, how about you guys?" Larksong asked.  
"Ready!" They meowed.  
"Then, go!" Skypaw was right; the first thing they did was run for thier bush, but we were ready, and waiting for them. Dustypaw crept along in the bushes with the hunter's crouch she had been taught what seemed like so long ago now. The bramble bush was within sight, and no cat was - wait, there was one cat guarding it. The guard was hidden, waiting for somecat to try and make a run for thier bush. Dustypaw crept around so that the bush was between her and the guard, then pounced onto the bush.  
"I win!" She yowled, and the cat fights broke up, and the guard, Morningpaw, stared at her in shock.  
"Dustypaw's group wins!" Larksong meowed. "Lets head back to camp; you guys must be hungry."

The training exercise had taken place on the day of the Gathering, and Dustypaw was excited. Would she get to go? Or did she have to wait until the next full moon? Dustypaw finished her thrush, then poked Chestnutpaw, who was finishing his mouse.  
"Hey, stop that!"  
"Nightstar is about to-"  
"All cats old enough to catch thier own prey gather beneath the Highledge for a Clan meeting!"  
"Told you." Dustypaw grinned at Chestnutpaw, who hurridly gulped down his mouse, then they joined the gathering cats.  
"I will take Tangleclaw, Rainsong, Dustypaw-" Yes! "-Nightpaw, Spottedpaw, Chestnutpaw, and Treeblaze." Yes! Dustypaw would get to go to the Gathering tonight! "Dissmissed." Just then, a black tomcat padded into the camp. Dustypaw would reconize that black pelt, three scars across his cheek, and the one across his eye anywhere. What was Darkstar of ShadowClan doing here?! "I wish to speak with Nightstar." Darkstar meowed, then he and Nightstar padded into Nightstar's den.

Not long after he had gone in, Darkstar came out, with Nightstar following behind him. Darkstar then left the camp, and everyone in ThunderClan relaxed. The sun had gone down, and so Nightstar called the cats that she had selected to go to the Gathering with her, and then they were off. Dustypaw padded along with the group as ThunderClan's forest became moorlands as they crossed the border, then they padded around the Horseplace, and then through the marshes and to the tree-bridge. Dustypaw hurried across it with no trouble at all when it was her turn; but Chestnutpaw slipped and fell off with a splash.  
"Hold on!" Rainsong, the cat closest to Chestnutpaw, and the only cat in ThunderClan who had bothered to learn how to swim, leapt into the water after Chestnutpaw, grabbed his scruff, and pulled him to shore. "Don't slip this time." She meowed, purring, and Chestnutpaw nodded, padded across, completely emberassed. Everyone else made it across without incident; and ThunderClan entered the Gathering clearing. Nightstar climbed up to the top and joined Darkstar and Morningstar; a white tabby she-cat with darker stripes and sky-blue eyes; the Leader of WindClan. Then, RiverClan came into the clearing, and Waterclaw climbed up the Gathering tree. There was no sign of Hailstar, and this caused some murmurs through the gathered cats. Dustypaw was close enough to hear quite a few of them; she was sitting on the border of the ThunderClan cats and the RiverClan cats.  
"...Hailstar, is she dead?"  
"...I bet Waterclaw mudered...posioned her even..."  
"...we'll find out soon enough, right?"  
"...better...Starlingpelt will claw...to death tonight...I come back...not knowing...Waterclaw..."  
"WindClan is doing well," Morningstar meowed. Oops, the Gathering had already started. The whispers died down to silence. "We have had a new apprentice this moon, Whitepaw!"  
"Whitepaw! Whitepaw!" The gathered cats called out his name, "Whitepaw! Whitepaw!" Morningstar stepped back down and Darkstar took her place.  
"ShadowClan has also been doing well this moon. We also have new aprentices, our medicine cat; Ashbreeze, has taken an apprentice, Dawnpaw. We also have Pinepaw for our new warrior apprentice.  
"Dawnpaw! Pinepaw! Dawnpaw! Pinepaw!" The gathered cats called out.  
"ThunderClan also has new apprentices this moon." Nightstar meowed, "Dustypaw, Chestnutpaw, and Spottedpaw for our warrior apprentices, and Nightpaw for our medicine cat apprentice."  
"Dustypaw! Chestnutpaw! Spottedpaw! Nightpaw!" the cats called out. Dustypaw purred for a second, then stopped. Nightstar was going to make an announcement, right?  
"We have also had trouble this moon, Darkstar stole Dustypaw and Nightpaw when they were kits, and we led a raid to ShadowClan to take them back, but we found only Nightpaw and were told that Dustypaw was dead. Had it not been for Hailstar of RiverClan for rescuing Dustypaw from the Thunderpath ShadowClan chased her onto; we would have lost her."  
The RiverClan cats nodded; Nightstar had acknowledged them after all. But there were hisses towards Darkstar; no Clan leader was looked upon the same if he ordered the stealing of kits from another Clan.  
"RiverClan has had a loss this moon." Waterclaw meowed, "Hailstar lost her final life, and I have visted the moonpool and StarClan has granted me my nine lives. I am Waterstar of RiverClan now." Everycat bowed thier heads; Hailstar had been a popular leader among the Clans. "We have new apprentices, Goldenpaw, Volepaw, and Graypaw."  
"Goldenpaw! Volepaw! Graypaw! Goldenpaw! Volepaw! Graypaw!" the cats called out, Dustypaw made sure that she called out thier names loud and clear, Volepaw was her friend.  
"We have also made an alliance with Darkstar since WindClan amushed us." Waterstar meowed, then turned to Nightstar, "You told Hailstar that you owed RiverClan for the rescue of your kit." WindClan cats yowled in outrage.  
"We never ambushed you, mange-pelts!" Morningstar hissed, not wanting to be outnumbered three Clans to one. _I don't think Morningstar would do that_, Dustypaw thought.  
"That promise was for Hailstar and Hailstar alone, which you convienetly left out. We will not ally with any Clan until we are provoked." Nightstar meowed calmly.  
"Liar!" Waterstar hissed, then lightning struck him with a bright flash of blinding light, and he fell from the Gathering tree and hit the ground with a awful thud. Troutscale rushed over to Waterstar, then meowed,  
"He's losing a life!"  
"StarClan agrees; that promise was to Hailstar and Hailstar alone!" Rainsong meowed, "And this Gathering is absolved!" The Clans broke apart into thier separte groups, but Volepaw padded over to Dustypaw and meowed,  
"We cant be friends anymore, RiverClan and ShadowClan are allies and ThunderClan and WindClan are not."  
"Nightstar hasnt deicded anything yet; ThunderClan isnt part of this fight between WindClan and RiverClan and ShadowClan _unless they had reason to be provoked_." Dustypaw reminded him.  
"Waterstar says that ThunderClan is neutral, but WindClan was definatly an enemy, and if ThunderClan allied with WindClan, well..." He looked at his paws, "I don't want to have to fight you."  
"You wont have to. If we do meet in battle, we'll go another direction. Simple as that." Dustypaw meowed, and Volepaw nodded.  
"Thanks."  
"No problem." Dustypaw padded over to the ThunderClan group while Volepaw headed back to the RiverClan group. Then, they all headed home.

Dustypaw was too tired to answer questions about the Gathering, so she just curled up in her nest. The cool breeze fluttered through the rip, and Dustypaw got an idea. She waited until the other apprentices were asleep (which did not take very long at all) then padded through the tiny hole and into the forest, padding in a random direction. She found herself near the ShadowClan border, and so she sat down to think. Suddenly, she saw ShadowClan warriors bound across thier border, heading straight for her! She hissed, then climbed up the oak tree, hurling down acorns at the very annoyed ShadowClan warriors.  
"Stop that!" one hissed.  
"We're not here to hurt you, you have to listen to us!" Another hissed softly.  
"No!" Dustypaw spat back, then heard a rustle in the trees and lept for the rowan across from her, just in time. The ShadowClan warrior who would have tackled her to the earth now was holding empty air, and he fell from the tree with a thud. Dustypaw winced.  
"See? You're not cruel like the other ThunderClan cats, they haven't drilled that into you yet. They'd purr at our pain, you don't." Huh? Dustypaw didnt know what to make of that. Suddenly, she was falling! A ShadowClan warrior had grabbed her from behind while the others had distracted her! She twisted around, and now the large ShadowClan warrior was falling, and she on top of him. Thud! He groaned as he got up while the others pounced on Dustypaw. Dustypaw fought, but they were too big and too many. She did manage to claw one of them across his face and leave a cut across his left eye. The warrior that she had just clawed, a large dark gray and black tortoshell tom with brown eyes, hissed to the others,  
"We've got what we came for! I'll take her back to camp, you guys make it look like WindClan did the capturing." Oh, no! That would mean...Dustypaw couldnt even think of what that would mean for WindClan, and she was too sore to attack the tom, who carried her across the river. Of course! She lifted up her tail, and the tip caught on one of the pine branches, tugging off a tuft of fur. If any ThunderClan cat saw that, she thought as she lowered her tail, they'd know who the _real _capturers were. The tom carried her through the pines, and she hung limp, too sore to move. Just lifting her beat-up tail had taken a lot of strength, since her whole body was beat-up and battered from their attack. Finally, they reached the camp, where the tom put her down in Ashbreeze's den, then left. As Ashbreeze was treating her sores, Dustypaw asked weakly,  
"Who was that tom?"  
"That was Ratclaw." Ratclaw. She'd give him more than one cut the next time they met. "You gave him quite the scar." Oh, so she had cut him deeper than she thought.  
"Why did they take me here?"  
"Darkstar, the-" Ashbreeze meowed some words that reminded Dustypaw of Nightpaw, when they had been kitnapped. "-has ordered that you be taken, and make it seem like WindClan did it, and I dont see how I can show ThunderClan the truth, Darkstar keeps me stuck in the camp."  
"Dont worry, I caught a tuft of my tail fur in the pine branch above me next to the border. When Nightstar sees it, and its a little hard to miss if you look up, and I know Nightstar will."  
"ShadowClan cats arent trained to look up for things." Ashbreeze purred. "Thanks."  
"Not a problem. I'll let Nightstar know that not everycat is loyal to Darkstar."  
"Thanks again."  
"Your welcome." Just then, Darkstar padded in.  
"How is she?"  
"You should tell your warriors not to hit her so hard. She'll be sore for a sun-cycle or two, then she'll be fine."  
"Good. We're taking her to the RiverClan camp just in case Nightstar finds out."  
"She will! She'll find out!" Dustypaw meowed weakly.  
"And how do you know?" He asked, and Dustypaw purred weakly. "Why should I tell you? Your too stupid to look where the Raven nests and the Lark sings."  
"What?" He asked, which made both Ashbreeze and Dustypaw purr.  
"She's been meowing that for a while now. I think its a hint on how Nightstar will find her."  
"Where the Raven nests and the Lark sings..." Darkstar meowed to himself. It was obvious, the answer. Up in the trees!  
"Mistytail will take her to RiverClan now." Darkstar meowed as he left and Mistytail picked her up.  
"Are you loyal to Darkstar?"  
"No I think he's a mange-pelt. I'm with Ashbreeze on that one. Kitnapping! Honestly, what do you think ThunderClan will do, sit there moping that they lost two kits?  
"Nope."  
"Exactly!"  
"Hes stupid to think that."  
"Finally, a ThunderClan cat with brains! This is the Thunderpath you nearly died on, right?"  
"Yup. Its where-where Troutscale and Hailstar found me." Finally, they arrived at the camp. Mistytail carried Dustypaw to Waterstar.  
"Ah, finally, good to see you again, Dustypaw."  
"I wish I could say the same." Dustypaw meowed, and Waterstar purred.  
"We'll be keeping you in the hole for now." Hole?! Dustypaw looked over and saw a hole heavily padded in moss. It looked comfy, but Dustypaw didnt want to be a prisoner again.  
With a screech, she darted off for the horseplace she could see in the distace. She was the fastest runner among the apprentices, but did that qualify for RiverClan warriors?  
She looked back over her shoulder to see that she was gaining more ground than the RiverClan cats were. Apparently it did, RiverClan must be way faster in water than on land.  
Dustypaw kept running, even though she was exhausted and sore, past the Horseplace and into WindClan territory, not even slowing down. She kept running until she collasped by a large tree that looked so out of place on the moor. She couldnt get her legs to move. But she had to! She had to get away! She tried, but she could only make her paws twitch a little bit. Her vision was going dark, and she struggled to stay awake. She had to get out of here! She had to...to...her world faded away into darkness, and she slumped to the earth.

"Do you think she's OK?" That voice, it was Waterstar's! Dustypaw didnt move, waiting for the darkness to take her again. It didnt.  
"I think so. She was taken prisoner as a kit by ShadowClan. I dont think she wants to repeat that expierence." Troutscale.  
"Is she OK?" Volepaw? What was Volepaw doing here?  
"If she chooses to wake up, she will be. But I think she is going to let death take her." Troutscale meowed. He was right, but Volepaw? I didnt want to leave Volepaw behind.  
"Dustypaw and I are friends. I hope she'll wake up for me." For Volepaw? To the hole, for Volepaw? Would I walk out of the stars for him? I wasnt sure. The darkness began to cloud my thoughts.  
"I'm losing her!" Troutscale meowed, panicked.  
"Dustypaw! Doesnt friendship mean something to you?" It did. Volepaw. Volepaw. Volepaw. Volepaw!  
"She's waking up!" Troutscale meowed, relieved.  
"Volepaw...?" Dustypaw meowed weakly.  
"Dustypaw! You're alive!" Volepaw meowed happily.  
"Volepaw...I'm on the border. StarClan or the Lake..." Dustypaw's voice drifted off.  
"Dustypaw, dont go. Stay here." Volepaw was pleading now.  
"For you." Dustypaw agreed, and she struggled to get her eyes open, and the darkness vanished. She opened her eyes.  
"Dustypaw!" Volepaw meowed.  
"Volepaw, what is going on? I was in WindClan, how'd I get here?"  
"Waterstar led a patrol after you. When we found you almost dead under the tree, well, Volepaw about had a heart attack. He insisted on carrying you back, but we did have to fight off a WindClan patrol." WindClan! Had they gotten there a little sooner, I'd be safe!  
"Oh."  
"Come on." Waterstar meowed, padded outside the den. Dustypaw followed him on weak and wobbly legs to the hole. Dustypaw hissed, her eyes narrowing. But her hiss was weaker than what it had been before.  
"Go on." Waterstar nudged her to the hole, but Dustypaw back up, hissing. Waterstar pushed her into the hole, and Dustypaw landed on the moss, hissing. The hole was actually quite large, and had alot of moss inside, plus a fish that smelled faintly of poppy seeds. Dustypaw ignored it. There was a nest already made for her, with feathers in it too,  
and smelled faintly of Volepaw. Dustypaw fought the urge to purr. She curled up in the nest and fell asleep.

"I told you, we dont have Dustypaw!"  
"We followed her scent from ShadowClan here! We saw the tuft of her fur in the branches!"  
"WindClan set us up!"  
"No! I'm looking for her here!"  
"Look, but you wont find her!" Dustypaw got up and looked at the opening of the hole, covered in branches with kits playing on it as if the camp was a battlefield clearing with a hill. Dustypaw realized that she could screech and Nightstar would know she was here, but would she find her?  
"I told you, she's not here." That did it.  
"MMRRREEEOOOOOWWWW!" Dustypaw screeched, and all ativity in the camp stopped.  
"I think I'll look under that pile."  
"No! No! We're playing there!" The kits protested, "You'll ruin it!" But Nightstar dug through it anyways, until she uncovered the hole and Dustypaw.  
"Dustypaw!"  
"Nightstar! Get me out of here!" Nightstar grabbed Dustypaw's scruff and pulled her out of the hole. She looked at Volepaw, his expression sad.  
"ThunderClan will go to war tonight." Nightstar threatened.  
"Then we cannot allow you to leave the camp." RiverClan warriors spead out, to prevent escape. Dustypaw wimpered very softly, only Nightstar and Waterstar heard her.  
"We will leave tonight."  
"RiverClan, attack!" It was a nightmare, so many cats at once attacking her. Volepaw went for Nightstar, as did most of the RiverClan cats, but Dustypaw was still overwhelmed.  
She struggled, but an attack aimed at her shoulders hit her neck. Instantly, the fighting stopped.  
"Dustypaw!" Nightstar meowed in shock. Volepaw could only stare.  
"Volepaw." Dustypaw meowed so softly, she didnt think anycat heard her. Then, she collasped, and darkness overtook her vision.

Dustypaw opened her eyes and saw Bluestar.  
"Send me back." She pleaded.  
"You have lost a life." Bluestar meowed, glancing over at the empty space beside her. Dustypaw realized that it was the faintest shape of herself, and when Bluestar said that she had lost a life, it grew considerably brighter and more solid-looking.  
"How many lives do I have left?"  
"Two."  
"Oh. Okay." Dustypaw meowed, relieved. Then, her eyes closed of thier own accord, and darkness overwhelmed her sight.

"She's dead, Waterstar, and its your fault!"  
"No, its not, that was an accident."  
"Dustypaw, Dustypaw." Volepaw was murmuring her name over and over so softly only she could hear him. "Dustypaw, Dustypaw."  
"I will take her home, so that she can have the proper burial. Even you cannot refuse this. Nightstar and Waterstar were almost right next to her. She figured that she'd better get up now.  
"Nightstar?" Dustypaw asked, getting up. Everyone in RiverClan started at her in shock. No neck wound, no wounds, nothing. She was completely healed.  
"Dustypaw? How are you alive?" Nightstar asked, but she and Dustypaw knew the truth. They just had to keep it hidden.  
"I saw Bluestar. She told me that my time has not yet come, then I woke up here." Dustypaw's legs suddenly gave out, and she collasped, but Nightstar grabbed her scruff.  
"We're leaving." She meowed around Dustypaw, then carried her though the rest of RiverClan territory, through WindClan, into ThunderClan, and back home.  
"Tell nocat here what happened, that you died." Nightstar told her.  
"OK." Dustypaw meowed, then Nightstar carried her into the camp.  
"Dustypaw!" Everyone meowed, then Nightstar called a Clan meeting and everyone gathered to hear what she had to say.  
"ShadowClan and RiverClan stole Dustypaw. If Dustypaw hadn't left her fur in the branches, we'd be at war with WindClan for something they didnt do." Nightstar stared down at the gathered cats. "Tonight, we go to WindClan and ally with them. Tonight, we are now at war with RiverClan and ShadowClan."


	4. Chapter 3

**AN: Here is the next chapter. I hope that you all enjoy it :3**

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It had been three and a half moons since ThunderClan had allied with WindClan, but still nothing had happened. Dustypaw and Chestnutpaw had gotten thier warrior names,  
Dustyheart and Chestnutpelt, and a quater moon later, so had Spottedpaw, who was now Spottedfire. Nightpaw wasnt done with his medicine cat training yet, but he would be in one and a half moons. Dustyheart was patroling the ShadowClan border with Spottedfire, Skylark, and Blackwing. Chestnutpelt was leading a patrol with Blackwing and Whitefire.  
Then, Dustyheart stopped the patrol. There was a kitten on ThunderClan's side of the border, lost and alone. He looked up at Dustyheart and mewed, "Can you take me home with you?" Dustyheart picked up the kit by his scruff and told the patrol to carry on, she'd be back in a minute. She took the kitten to the camp, and into the leader's den.  
"Nightstar, this kit is abandonded."  
"Oh, no. How old are you, little kitten, and what is your name?"  
"I am six and a half moons old, and my name, well, my mother never gave me one. I was the runt of the litter, so she threw me out when I was old enough to take care of myself.  
Will you let me stay?"  
"Of course, I am Nightstar, and this is Dustyheart. We'll get you a name tonight."  
"Yay!" the kitten spun around happily.  
"Dustyheart, you're in charge of him until sundown."  
"Yes, Nightstar." Dustyheart herded the little kitten outside and then he sat down and asked,  
"Why are you taking orders from Nightstar?"  
"Because Nightstar is the leader of ThunderClan."  
"ThunderClan?! This is ThunderClan?! Awesome! I'm in ThunderClan!" the little kitten mewed happily.  
"Want to play moss-ball?"  
"Moss-ball?"  
"I'll show you." Dustyheart scooped up a wad of moss and tossed it to him. And the game began.

"Let all cats old enough to catch thier own prey gather beneath the Highledge for a Clan meeting!" Nigtstar called. After playing three games of moss-ball and answering every question about the Clans and the warrior code, she and the little kitten joined the mass of cats.  
"Now, when Nightstar calls you up, you climb up there and sit by her. But wait for her to call you."  
"OK." The little tom sat down, waiting.  
"Today, Dustyheart found a small white kitten who had been abandoned. As we only have one apprentice, I have decided to make him an apprentice of ThunderClan. Come forward, little kitten." the little tom bounded up the Highledge and sat next to Nightstar, his eyes shinning in excitement.  
"From now on, you shall be known as Snowpaw. Your mentor will be Dustyheart." Dustyheart padded up the Highledge and whispered softly, "touch noses with me." and they touched noses, then rejoined the cats. Snowpaw looked up at her in excitement. "Dissmissed." Nightstar meowed, then the cats returned to thier dens.  
"Snowpaw, you sleep in the apprentice's den; its for warrior apprentices, so you'll be the only one. Just pick a nest and fall asleep."  
"OK." Snowpaw padded over to the center of the den, then curled up into a nest. Dustyheart then padded over to her nest; which was right up against the barrier (she had made a teensy little hole in the back of the den; nocat would notice it. Dustyheart curled up and fell asleep.

"So, how do you know that cats go to StarClan?" Snowpaw asked. He and Dustyheart were padding over to the training hollow; but Dustyheart stopped and looked Snowpaw in the eye and meowed,  
"Because I have already died." Dustyheart then explained what happened in the RiverClan camp; along with asking Snowpaw to promise that he wouldn't tell anycat.  
"I promise I won't."  
"Thanks. Now come on; you dont want to miss battle training, do you?"  
"No way!" Snowpaw ran the rest of the way to the hollow; Dustyheart keeping in pace with him.

"I am one of the fastest cats in the Clans; so you have to be fast if you want to take me down, but you have to be careful. If you give yourself away in battle, or hesitate too long, then that gives the enemy the advantage, especially if the cat is fast."  
"OK."  
"Try the move you learned yesterday; the leap and the flip then claw then dart off."  
"Okay!" Snowpaw had been training for three moons now; he was so close to being ready to become a warrior. He mastered the move quickly, but then yowling and screeching came from the camp!  
"Snowpaw, the camp! Hurry!" They both ran for the camp; and when they got there; they saw that ShadowClan and RiverClan were attacking! Dustyheart screeched, then jumped on the nearest cat, raking her claws down his pelt. He yowled in pain, then screeched when Snowpaw clamped his jaws down on his tail and wouldnt let go. He shook Dustyheart off and ran for the entrance, dragging Snowpaw halfway to the barrier, then Snowpaw let go. She looked around for somecat that needed some help, then saw a tomcat, his paw up, claws unsheathed, about to murder Nightpelt (who had recieved his medicine cat name a moon ago), who was unaware of the attack, as he was trying to keep cats from getting into the medicine den. With a roar of rage, Dustyheart leapt on the cat who was about to murder Nightpelt and sunk her teeth into his shoulder while raking her claws across his face. He yowled, and Nightpelt noticed, shoving away the cat who was trying to get in and scoring his claws down the tomcat's face, leaving three deep and long slashes across his face. The tomcat yowled and ran off, and Dustyheart busied herself with helping to defend the medicine cat den from the ShadowClan and RiverClan warriors. Finally, Darkstar yowled,  
"Retreat! We've done what we came here to do! Retreat!" And the warriors left, leaving Dustyheart full of a terrible feeling. They've done what they came here to do? What terrible thing was that?"  
"Tangleclaw! Nightstar, Silverfall, Moonfur, and Barkpelt are dead!" Nightpelt's and Spottedfire's mother is dead? Spottedfire's mentor is dead, too? Nightstar is gone,  
forever? Silverfall, Moonfur's twin sister, she's gone too? What? Dustyheart felt like she was in a daze; Tangleclaw sat vigil for Nightstar all night, like Dustyheart did with all of the cats who had paid for Darkstar's and Waterstar's attack with thier lives. Darkstar and Waterstar, this was thier fault. If they hadnt attacked for no reason, they'd all be alive. Nightstar, Barkpelt, Silverfall, Moonfur...Nightstar...Barkpelt...Silverfall...Moon fur...Nightstar...Barkpelt...Silverfall...Moonfur. ..

At dawn, Dystyheart ate in silence, thinking about the attack. She didnt notice Tangleclaw next to her until he meowed,  
"Dustyheart?"  
"Yes?" she meowed back.  
"I'm going to the moonpool to recive my nine lives-" There it was again; _my nine lives_. Waterstar had said that too, but shouldnt it be, I recieved nine lives from StarClan?  
"-and I was wondering if you would come with Rainsong and I."  
"I will. When are we leaving?"  
"Now." We turned and left the camp, after Dustyheart had a minor detour to Rainsong for traveling herbs. They traveled across the WindClan border, heading for the Moonpool, when they were stopped by a WindClan patrol.  
"What are you doing here?" One of the toms asked.  
"Nightstar is dead. I am heading to the Moonpool to recive my nine lives."  
"Oh. Carry on. I will let Morningstar know of the tragety." The tom meowed, then the WindClan patrol left and the group continued to the Moonpool without any further interupions. Dustyheart, Tangleclaw, and Rainsong each lapped up a little water from the Moonpool, then settled down to await dreams from StarClan. Dustyheart closed her eyes and felt herself drift off into darkness.

"Dustyheart! Dustyheart!" Bluestar? Dustyheart opened her eyes to see Bluestar sitting next to her, gazing at the Moonpool.  
"What is it, Bluestar?" Dustyheart asked, then Nightstar padded over to sit on her other side.  
"Something terrible is about to happen," Bluestar meowed.  
"A betrayal that ends in death." Nightstar finished, then both Nightstar and Bluestar stared at her as she heard the yowls of fear from WindClan's territory, and the voice of Tangleclaw,  
"She's dead! Now come on, you will follow me back to camp where Darkstar and Waterstar will be watiting." What?! Tangleclaw must agree with Darkstar and Waterstar! How could he, right after Nightstar died? A BETRAYAL THAT ENDS IN DEATH. Well, someone just died. If it was Dustyheart who died, then she'd just come back again, so what was the deal with that, unless some other cat died? It was too confusing.  
"Dont worry, Dustyheart." Nightstar meowed reassuringly, "All will reveal itself in time." Then, her eyes closed of thier own accord, and Dustyheart's vision turned dark.

Dustyheart opened her eyes and saw that neither Rainsong nor Tangleclaw were awake yet. A BETRAYAL THAT ENDS IN DEATH. Great. Dustyheart sat down, and patiently waited for Tangleclaw and Rainsong to wake up. When they did, Tangleclaw meowed, "So I am now Tanglestar of ThunderClan...come on, lets get back home." We journeyed back to the camp, and by the time we got there, it was sundown. Dustyheart ate some prey, then padded back into the warriors den. A BETRAYAL THAT ENDS IN DEATH. Well, the question was, who's death was it?

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**AN: Okay, seriously? Moonbeam141 is the _only_ _one_ who has bothered to review this story. Thank you Moonbeam, for being so awesome :3**


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